Krist J. Peetz, recorder, 1975
File — Box: 4, CD: 368
Scope and Content
From the Collection:
The collection consists of 591 recordings of folk songs, folklore and local histories collected by Ruben Cobos from 1944-1974 in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Also included in the collection are about 270 additional recordings of selected music - a few from New Mexico, many from Mexico and Latin America, and others from Spain, Europe and the U.S. The recordings vary in quality between good, fair, and poor. They contain both musical and spoken content. Most recordings are in Spanish, however, a few are in English. Others are Bilingual or represent the use of Spanglish.
The informants are mainly from New Mexico and Colorado, with a few from California, Texas and Mexico. The collections focuses heavily on spoken Spanish, with examples of poetry, riddles, proverbs, legends, anecdotes, folk tales, mysteries, prayers, nursery rhymes, games, jokes, language use, tricky words, tongue twisters, memories, local history and family history. The Spanish songs include alabados, entriegas for weddings and baptisms, inditas, corridos and ballads, pastores, posadas, love songs, folk dance music, etc. Traditions of Los Juanes and Los Manueles, Penitente morada practices, including women Penitentes, Holy Week songs and activities and the role of the church, santos and fiestas in the lives of the people are also included. There are also several lectures on folklore, music and culture by Cobos and other scholars, including Fray Angelico Chavez, Charles Briggs, Alfonso Ortiz, Arthur Leon Campa, Marta Weigle, Guadalupe Baca Vaughn, Anita Thomas and others. Included also are autobiographical accounts by Ruben Cobos and his wife Elvira.
Songs and stories about and for children, their health and education are included. Although the majority of the information is about Spanish and Hispanic traditions, the collection also provides some materials by and about non-Hispanics and the relationship between the races. A small amount of stories and songs relate to Apaches, Navajos, Pueblos, Mexicanos, African Americans, and Anglos (gringos).
Songs and stories by or about males show them in every walk of life, as rich and poor, old and young, as husbands, widowers, fathers, sons, relatives, compadres, friends, orphans, opponents, collaborators, kings, princes, commoners, giants, ranchers, cowboys, shepherds, farmers, woodcutters, shoemakers, vendors, railroaders, hunters, priests, doctors, teachers, politicians, attorneys, meteorologists, soldiers, witches, simpletons, gamblers, murderers, drunks, adulturers and thieves.
Recordings by and about women add value and perspective to the collection. Females are rich and poor, old and young, girl friends, lovers, adulteresses, wives, widows, mothers, comadres, church attendees, housekeepers for priests, nuns, princesses, queens, teachers, curanderas, cooks and witches. Some of the characters found in the collection are Cinderella, Genoveva de Brabanate, Goldilocks, Delgadina, La Llorona, Doña Cebolla, Dona Fortuna and the Virgin Mary, as well as San Antonio, San Pedro, Bartoldo, Don Cacahuate, Juan Charrasqueado, Pedro and Juan de Urdemalas, Ali Baba, Don Dinero, Tio Botitas and others.
The collection contains descriptions, traditions, local history and songs for New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Mexico. There are references to the Civil War in New Mexico, the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II. Stories tell of superstitions, supernatural, unexplained phenomenon, balls of fire and light, lightening, a comet, the sun, moon, finding treasure, ghosts, devils and magic. Additional topics include traditional food and cooking, health and home remedies. Included also are stories and references to insects, animals, birds, fish and snakes, as well as floods and storms, and automobiles and airplanes.
The informants are mainly from New Mexico and Colorado, with a few from California, Texas and Mexico. The collections focuses heavily on spoken Spanish, with examples of poetry, riddles, proverbs, legends, anecdotes, folk tales, mysteries, prayers, nursery rhymes, games, jokes, language use, tricky words, tongue twisters, memories, local history and family history. The Spanish songs include alabados, entriegas for weddings and baptisms, inditas, corridos and ballads, pastores, posadas, love songs, folk dance music, etc. Traditions of Los Juanes and Los Manueles, Penitente morada practices, including women Penitentes, Holy Week songs and activities and the role of the church, santos and fiestas in the lives of the people are also included. There are also several lectures on folklore, music and culture by Cobos and other scholars, including Fray Angelico Chavez, Charles Briggs, Alfonso Ortiz, Arthur Leon Campa, Marta Weigle, Guadalupe Baca Vaughn, Anita Thomas and others. Included also are autobiographical accounts by Ruben Cobos and his wife Elvira.
Songs and stories about and for children, their health and education are included. Although the majority of the information is about Spanish and Hispanic traditions, the collection also provides some materials by and about non-Hispanics and the relationship between the races. A small amount of stories and songs relate to Apaches, Navajos, Pueblos, Mexicanos, African Americans, and Anglos (gringos).
Songs and stories by or about males show them in every walk of life, as rich and poor, old and young, as husbands, widowers, fathers, sons, relatives, compadres, friends, orphans, opponents, collaborators, kings, princes, commoners, giants, ranchers, cowboys, shepherds, farmers, woodcutters, shoemakers, vendors, railroaders, hunters, priests, doctors, teachers, politicians, attorneys, meteorologists, soldiers, witches, simpletons, gamblers, murderers, drunks, adulturers and thieves.
Recordings by and about women add value and perspective to the collection. Females are rich and poor, old and young, girl friends, lovers, adulteresses, wives, widows, mothers, comadres, church attendees, housekeepers for priests, nuns, princesses, queens, teachers, curanderas, cooks and witches. Some of the characters found in the collection are Cinderella, Genoveva de Brabanate, Goldilocks, Delgadina, La Llorona, Doña Cebolla, Dona Fortuna and the Virgin Mary, as well as San Antonio, San Pedro, Bartoldo, Don Cacahuate, Juan Charrasqueado, Pedro and Juan de Urdemalas, Ali Baba, Don Dinero, Tio Botitas and others.
The collection contains descriptions, traditions, local history and songs for New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Mexico. There are references to the Civil War in New Mexico, the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II. Stories tell of superstitions, supernatural, unexplained phenomenon, balls of fire and light, lightening, a comet, the sun, moon, finding treasure, ghosts, devils and magic. Additional topics include traditional food and cooking, health and home remedies. Included also are stories and references to insects, animals, birds, fish and snakes, as well as floods and storms, and automobiles and airplanes.
Dates
- 1975
Language of Materials
From the Collection:
English, Spanish
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Extent
From the Collection: 13 boxes (12.25 cu. ft.)
General
Juan Pacheco, born June 24th, 1912, Wagon Mound, NM. Notes for 368 in Cobos folder. Begins at 00:02 and ends at 44:23. 1. Personal information (fair recording, born in Wagon Mound, 1912); 2. Chimayo (fair recording, Chimayo, church, unique, first plaza where established weaving trade, weavers, making serapes, also a center for chile, apples); 3. Personal experience (fair recording, story of his maternal great grandfather Juan Reyes Santistevan, born in Truchas, New Mexico, raised in Taos, part owner of first bank in Taos, had the first mercantile business stores in Taos, food, bacon, shoes, clothing, hardware, heavy equipment, people had no cash, he had a credit system for customers, they paid debt to him after they sold their sheep, wool and cattle in Spring and Fall, barter, trade, economy in past, business, economy); 4. Kit Carson (good recording, Carson came West to Taos in the same wagon train as the informant's paternal great grandfather, Juan Pacheco, of Portugese descent, Juan Pacheco made trips to Los Estados, the United States, to the Midwest, wagon train, mules, trade in wool, for American products, bought clothing and items not found in New Mexico, caravans, took along guards to protect against Native American Indians and thieves, Carson was not as famous as later became, was a common man, later became famous for fighting Indians, Native Americans. Informant's ancestors, Juan Reyes Santistevan and Juan Pacheco, gave land for the cemetery in Taos, where Carson was buried. Besides being a businessman, Juan Reyes Santistevan was also a politican and served in the New Mexico House of Representatives twice and once in the New Mexico Senate, Legislature. Carson asked one of informant's great aunts to marry him, story of how her family objected him, marriage, threatened to exile her if she did. Instead he married another Spanish lady. Great grandfather Juan Pacheco and Carson went to Farmington, New Mexico, there Pacheco purchased a Navajo boy, Native American children, was a captive, cautivo, Juan named the boy Francisco Pacheco, he was like part of their family, later Francisco married a Spanish lady, had three children, family, two children went to Wagon Mound, where they had a lot of sheep, third was a weaver of animal hides, horse bridles, etc.); 5. Adivinanzas (good recording, riddles, banda que ni bebe, ni come, ni anda, la puente); 6. Banda (good recording, the people in the other family, in two towns, separated by a river and bridge); 7. Dichos (good recording, one is volando viene, volande se va); 8. Chiste (good recording, joke about a drunk man, drinking, old fat lady and rooster); 9. Cuentos (good recording, stories, Bertoldo escaping from the dogs, he and the singing frogs, in winter snow, when caught stealing, authorities looking for him, he walks toward the oven with his shoes on backwards, shoe prints, hides there, they think he went the other direction, Don Cacahuate, thinks two lights coming at him are bicycles, instead is an automobile and he gets run over, joke, a woman with her many children coming down the street, looked like a hen and her chickens); 10. Local history (fair to poor recording, account of a cerrito or hill near Las Vegas, during the Pueblo Revolt, Indians, Native Americans drove a lot of the Spanish people up to the summit of the hill, surrounded the cerro for months, until the Spanish died from thirst and hunger, death, muerte, Starvation Peak; geography, was also a place called El Cerrito de Humo, near Las Vegas, alway had a little smoke coming up, people avoided it, didn't know much about science, in reality it was a volcano, mountain, as far as he knew, it never errupted, story of Taos Pueblo, during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish colonists, Santa Fe, there was a Spanish lady the Pueblos had stolen, captive, cautivo, named la Monarca, who lived with the Native American Indians, Pueblos, and was on their side, they did not know how to load the Spanish rifles so she loaded them as they fought the Spanish, defense, story of; Vicente de Silva, his gang of bandits, Gorras Blancas, Pacheco said they were stealing from banks and stores, killing people, his viewpoint, they had nicknames, gives several examples, Vicente was mean, killed his wife, had a mistress, planned to flee to South America, authorties caught the gang, Vicente escaped, rest of men went to the penitentiary; Thieves' Mountain, hill near Las Vegas, Cerro de los Ladrones, bandits stole from town and then hid on mountain, buried their treasure; story of how did business in the past, local business people, about 1928, store keepers and customers were very honest, customers signed a note or shook hands, on their honor, no checks or little cash, everyone knew each other); 11. Local traditions (good recording, Christmas, New Years, Navidad, Ano Nuevo, in Holman, New Mexico, las estaciones, stations of the cross, nine days before Christmas, made luminarias, wood piles to burn, did it each night, around the church, prayed at each of the stations, on last night, misa el gallo, midnight mass, after mass people went home and had food and sweets, cooking, empanaditas, chicharones, biscochitos, etc. traditional holiday foods, codeswitch into English, Spanish language, Spanglish, with goodies, on Christmas day had posole, more empanaditas, biscochitos); 12. Religious traditions (good recording, Holy Week, Semana Santa, Penitentes, moradas, El Calvario, held early morning services in small towns from Santa Fe to Taos, carried heavy wooden crosses called maderos, blood on the crosses, flagellations, men whipped themselves along the way, speaker and other young boys would watch them, he tells how Penitentes were also involved in politics and law, story of a Penitente who once was sentenced in court and was acquitted because the lawyer and judge were both Penitentes); 13. Personal experience (good recording, informant used to speak good Spanish, Spanish language loss, Spanglish, now he has difficulty expressing himself in Spanish language, English dominant, he had visited Spain, spoke Spanish well there); 14. Marianella (good recording, author unknown, Spanish story, about an ugly girl and a blind boy, she told him she was beautiful, when he had cataract operation and could see her, she knew he would be angry, she then disappeared).
Creator
- From the Collection: Cobos, Rubén (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository
Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451